Hinata: A Distant, Fading Dream
by Kagyuubi
Summary: Hinata has always loved Naruto. With the conclusion of the Fourth Shinobi World War, she thought she would have a chance to follow up on her revelation during the battle with Pain. However, one person still stood in her way - Naruto's first love, Haruno Sakura. Left heartbroken, Hinata sought solitude atop the Hokage Monument, trying to figure out where everything went wrong...
1. Part One: The Beginning of the Dream

**Hinata ~ A Distant, Fading Dream**

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**~ Prologue ~**

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All good things come to an end. Hyuga Hinata learned that the hard way twice in her life: when her mother passed away, signalling the end of her happy days at the Hyuga Compound and on the day when Uzumaki Naruto, the love of her life, began a relationship with Haruno Sakura. That was the beginning of the end for her dream.

Uzumaki Naruto was her strength, her motivator and the reason Hinata grew and developed as a person. He harboured a single dream, one that allowed him to overcome any difficulty. _'To be the Hokage, that is my dream!'_ She had heard these words many times, in every conceivable situation. During Naruto's childhood, those were the words he would shout at anyone who mocked him. When he left to fight Pain and save Konoha, these were the words he said to reassure those few concerned souls that he would return. And when he said them as the villagers hoisted him on their shoulders, celebrating the return of the village hero, there wasn't a single person who doubted him.

But Hyuga Hinata was special. She didn't need to see Naruto save the village a dozen times over to recognize his potential. She knew from the start, from the day they met, that those words were true. Whenever he said that he would become Hokage, she believed in him without reservation. But always from a distance. Never had she said it to his face that she had faith in him, until the invasion of Pain. But even then, her words, pulled straight from her heart, were forgotten in the heat of battle.

The little comfort she could draw from that moment, save for Naruto's safe return afterwards, had been that her apparent death at the hand of Pain had evoked the strongest reaction from Naruto - channelling the infinite rage of the Nine-Tails in anguish. But even that brought her a short lived, false peace of mind; she was aware of how much pain Naruto suffered, directly or otherwise, due to the Nine-Tailed Fox residing within him. He had been tormented as a child because of it, and to this day, the Fox spirit wrought immeasurable damage to his body when it overcame his restraint and took advantage of his anger.

Her words, words she would have never had the courage to say to him at any other time were said thanks to pure desperation. Her Naruto was at Pain's mercy, pinned cruelly to the ground while the man himself revealed his plans for Naruto's burden, at the cost of the blonde ninja's life. His pain was hers, and she knew she had to protect him, as there was no life for her without him in it. The courage to protect her precious person was strong enough to motivate her to speak; it bolstered her courage like no other situation could. But her proclamation of love was forgotten, lost in his mind like a distant, fading dream...

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**Part One ~ The Beginning of the Dream**

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Hyuga Hinata stood atop the Godaime Hokage's stone likeness on the Hokage Monument. She didn't come here often, but when she did, it was to admire the beauty of the village at night from above. A pleasant distraction as she thought about various events in her life. Painful events, sad events, and happy ones too, this was the spot where she could sit and think in peace. It was calm and quiet, the sounds of the village did not reach her ears and she was grateful for it.

Right now, Hinata needed some personal time to reflect over the happiest and yet most painful thing in her life: Uzumaki Naruto.

After the Fourth Shinobi World War was won, and the Allied Nations separated amicably, Konoha had to be rebuilt from the ground up. But not before a huge celebration was held for the heroes who fought bravely for the village. Of course, the one who snatched victory from the jaws of defeat was the most praised of all. And that's why Hinata had watched with a grateful smile, from the sidelines, like she always did, as Naruto was presented with the Hokage's Commendation for services rendered to the village, namely the defeat of Sasuke and aiding in the destruction of Konoha's greatest enemy: Uchiha Madara and the Akatsuki.

She was thankful that he had survived; it seemed as though he was finished when Sasuke began to rely on self-damaging kinjutsu. But she had jumped in, like that time with Pain, and helped him to fight back until he ordered her to leave. She could still see his face clearly in his mind as she helped him up.

_"Hinata, this is my fight. I know you want to help, but I swore to end this myself." he grinned at her, his defiant, never-give-up smile that she knew so well. "So believe in me, I promise I'll come back alive!"_

And Uzumaki Naruto never went back on his word. She'd had no reason to doubt him, instead speaking to him, without a trace of her stutter.

_"Good luck Naruto-kun." she smiled at him "I've always believed in you." With that, she leaned forward and gently kissed him on the cheek, before sprinting away from the battlefield, not daring to look back._

Hinata leaned back on her hands, the stone surface of Tsunade's head cool beneath her hands. She gazed up at the night sky, watching as the last of the smoky clouds, once ever present during the war, were blown away by the cool night breeze, leaving the sky fresh and clean, exposing the multitude of stars above.

She touched her lips gently. She could still feel his warm, sweat-coated cheek, could remember the sensation of joy that had filled her heart as she kissed him good luck on that bloody battlefield almost three days ago. That had been the boldest move she could have pulled, given the circumstances. She had wanted to tell him more, how much he meant to her, how she would always believe in him, that she wanted to be by his side and that she loved him and wanted to be with him until the end.

Tears slowly filled her eyes as she was reminded as to why she'd come up here; the reason she had left the merriment of the village celebration to be alone with her thoughts. She found that she couldn't confront the issue just yet; she was still trying to get over the shock. Her heart ached and she cast about, searching her mind for anything to distract her from those painful thoughts. Inevitably, her thoughts fell on Naruto, and she remembered the first time they'd met, when things had been much simpler...

~H~

The first encounter was the most memorable. It was then that Hinata was inspired to be better, to try and improve herself, to be like the mysterious blonde boy who had stood up for her when she was being mistreated, despite the odds being stacked against him. As a young girl, Hinata suffered from a severe lack of self-confidence. Her mother had just passed away, and her father was becoming more and more disappointed in her with each passing day, as her gentle nature and lack of self-esteem set her back further and further from becoming the next head of the Hyuga Clan.

The Branch family member who escorted her from place to place was to take her to school on her first day. Understandably, she was very nervous, more so because her own father had told her the day before that she was a good for nothing weakling. The words bit deep, but the fact that her own father had said them to her made it all the worse.

Thus, with a heavy heart, she left the shelter of the Hyuga Compound, heading for the preparatory school that all aspiring ninja had to attend before entering the Academy. That day had been the first of a three year stint at the school, and she would have spent them alone had she not met the brave blonde boy she came to know as Uzumaki Naruto.

The main street through the village was crowded with the usual morning foot traffic, and inevitably it seemed, she was separated from her escort. Hinata stood frozen in fear, forcing other pedestrians to move around her, grumbling in annoyance. She felt smaller and more alone as murmurs and rude comments were directed her way.

Finally, an old man carrying a massive stack of boxes instructed her, not unkindly, to relocate herself, lest she be trampled underfoot. She squeaked with terror and quickly meandered her way through the mass of people to the side of the road, apologizing constantly whenever she stepped too close to another villager.

She found herself in an empty alleyway. The bright sunlight that had lit up every inch of the main street did not penetrate the deep shadows between the two buildings that formed the small alley. Tears began to fill her eyes. Hinata was terrified and lost.

The dark alley was daunting sight, but she knew she couldn't stay there. She closed her eyes and began to sprint blindly, hoping to open her eyes and see sunshine. Instead, she found herself being knocked backwards by a rather solid but squishy... something... That she had run into. There was a surprised yelp, a soft splattering sound and finally, the sound of an indignant growl.

Hinata slowly sat up and opened her eyes, fearing the worst. However, there were no spots of blood on the ground; a scoop of light green ice cream lay splattered on the dirt, it's cone sticking up and at an angle, seemingly pointing towards the three older boys staring right at her, stunned confusion on their faces.

Adding the feeling of embarrassment to the growing list of emotions she was currently experiencing, Hinata quickly stood, regaining her composure to an extent. "I'm sorry," she mumbled, before turning back the way she had come, prepared to run with reckless abandon.

She had taken no more than two steps when a rough hand grabbed her arm and pulled her back, dumping her unceremoniously on the ground once more. "Hey you! Where do you think you're going? You made me drop my ice cream!" the largest of the boys addressed her roughly, placing a hand on her shoulder and shaking her for emphasis.

Hinata's face scrunched up with anxiety. Her first day at school had become a complete nightmare, and she hadn't even seen the inside of her classroom. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry... I..." her apologies slowly petered out as she realized the larger boy was staring into her tear-filled eyes.

"Hey guys! This one here is a Hyuga! She probably thinks she's better than us because she's from one of the 'noble' clans of Konoha." he leaned forward, addressing her directly. "I spent a lot of money on that ice cream cone, and you think you can run away without giving me a proper apology? Boys, let's teach her a lesson. She needs to know that she isn't any more special than anyone else!"

With affirmative grunts, the other two boys flanked Hinata and pinned her tightly between them. Ignoring her half-hearted attempts to escape, they dragged her out of the alley, following their leader to their usual spot.

"P-Please don't do this... I-I'm so s-sorry..." she whispered, crying openly as she was pulled along.

When the two lackeys finally dropped Hinata, she found herself lying face down on soft grass. Her tears had blurred her vision for most of the journey and now she really was completely and utterly lost. As she attempted to sit up, a foot was placed forcefully on the back of her head, pushing her face into the dirt.

"Now you are going to give me a proper apology for making me drop my ice cream. You will address me on your hands and knees and you will refer to me as Taiko-sama."

Hinata sniffled miserably. She was too distraught to think, let alone talk. A hand roughly grabbed the back of her head, pulling on her hair until she looked up into the face of one of Taiko's friends.

"Hey you, you have your orders! Hop to it, and you're punishment won't be too brutal."

He let go suddenly, and Hinata once again found herself lying prone on the cold grass. They had brought her to a shady spot on the edge of the forest where the sun didn't shine. A chilly breeze weaved its way between the tree trunks, causing Hinata to shiver not only with fear.

"I'm waiting," the voice of Taiko sneered. Tears flowed down her cheeks, dripping from her chin as she finally opened her mouth to speak.

"Hey! What the heck are you doing?"

"Huh? Who are you?" Hinata glanced up slowly, spotting the new arrival immediately. A small, blonde haired child around her age stood a few metres away, watching the boys torment Hinata.

One of Taiko's lackeys suddenly recognized him. "Hey, he's that good-for-nothing that everyone hates for causing trouble!"

"Ah, that kid," said Taiko, as he began to laugh, mocking the young boy.

"I'm not 'that kid'! I am Uzumaki Naruto, the future Hokage!" he glared at them, hands balled into fists by his sides. "Don't you forget it!"

"Hokage?" the three boys said simultaneously. They stared at Naruto for a few moments, before bursting out into laughter.

"What an idiot!"

"As if some stupid brat like you could become the Hokage!" As Hinata watched him, his eyes cast in shadow by his long spiky hair, he she remembered seeing the boy somewhere else. She had once seen the boy, yelling at the citizens of Konoha that he was going to be Hokage, before running away from the latest scene of trouble he'd caused. Judging eyes, snide whispers and disapproving comments had followed him as he ran towards the Hokage Monument.

Taiko stepped closer to Naruto. "There's no way an idiot like you could become one!" he said as he punched Naruto in the jaw, smirking as his friends' laugher increased. He hit Naruto again, knocking the disorientated boy off his feet. Hinata watched in horror as the boy who had come to rescue landed painfully on his back.

_'Why? Why is he...?'_

Slowly Naruto picked himself off the ground, unsteadily making his way back onto his feet. He wiped a trickle of blood from the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand and grinned.

Taiko scowled. "You wanna fight brat?"

Naruto brought his hands up in the ram seal. "Alright, but don't go crying to your mother afterwards!" he said, a confident smile on his face. Hinata could only watch as he closed his eyes in concentration, wondering quietly who that brave young boy really was.

The taller lackey took a half step back. "H-Hey, that seal is..."

"Bunshin no Jutsu!" with a loud bang and a large puff of smoke, a clone appeared. A rather sickly looking clone that slowly slumped to the ground, before vanishing in a puff of smoke.

The boys' terrified looks turned to smirks and sniggers, until they burst out laughing.

"That's pathetic! Are you even trying? I-" Taiko was cut off as Naruto tackled him to the ground. The other two boys' laughter ceased abruptly as their leader was pushed into the dirt.

"You let your guard down! You think you can get away with beating up little girls?" yelled Naruto, raising his fist. "You'll see, I'll definitely become Hokage! And I'll then I'll show people like you!" he emphasized the ending of his statement with a punch, soon followed by another, and another.

Hinata, now forgotten by the side of the clearing, could only watch as Taiko's friends pulled Naruto off their leader and tossed him against a tree, beating him mercilessly. She turned her eyes away, distraught.

"Hinata-sama!" her escort was running towards her, his Byakugan active. The three boys looked when they heard him shout and their faces blanched with fear.

"Yabe!" they yelped as they left Naruto and scampered away.

"Hinata-sama, are you alright?" he asked before spotting the bloodied and bruised Naruto lying at the foot of a tree. "This kid, he's..."

Grabbing Hinata's hand, he began to lead her away. "W-Wait, he helped me!" she said, looking back at the unconscious blonde.

"Do not concern yourself with him!" her escort said sharply. "Let's go."

"B-But..." she briefly reached out to Naruto, as if to take him with her before she was pulled away, leaving her saviour alone in the forest.

Hinata did not see her rescuer after that day, and she wondered where he had gone and if he was alright. But a week passed, and there had been no sign of him at school. She knew he should be there, judging from his (admittedly poor) Bunshin no Jutsu and his aspiration to become Hokage, she knew he would be a ninja. There were other things she wondered about, like how he knew an Academy level technique at their age, but she had no time to ponder such curiosities, especially since he wasn't around to answer her questions.

But she still thought about him from time to time, the boy with the fierce blue eyes and fiery determination who had come to her rescue.

The second week of school began, and Hinata quickly and quietly moved to her seat near the window. She had been glad that their sensei had given her a spot near the back of the class. The minute she'd walked into the room on her first day, the other kids were pointing and whispering to each other.

"Hey, is that a Hyuga?"

"Yeah, just look at her eyes!"

"So she's related to that Neji kid right? Do you think she's got a personality like him?"

"Probably. People from the 'noble' families are jerks; they think they're so much better than everyone else."

Feeling a large sense of discomfort at being the centre of attention, she clutched her hands tightly to her chest, trying to make herself as small as possible as she made her way to her lonely seat in the back.

Hinata felt terrible, and the fact that students every now and then would turn around and openly stare at her made her all the more upset. On the verge of crying, she jumped when their sensei barged through the door, dragging a small kid in behind him by the arm.

Hinata's pale lavender eyes widened. It was him. The boy from before. The one known as...

"...Uzumaki Naruto. I hope you'll all be good friends with him and make him feel welcome." the teacher sounded somewhat bored as he finished the introduction. He bent down to glare at the young boy, who was pouting indignantly. "Your seat is up there, next to Hyuga Hinata."

Giving him a none too gentle shove, he directed Naruto to the aforementioned seat and began his lesson. Shoving his hands in his pockets and grumbling under his breath, Naruto made his way to the back row, plopping down on the seat like he really couldn't care less.

Hinata was nervous. Did he remember her? How was she supposed to react to his presence? Would he be upset or annoyed that he had taken a severe beating for her and she'd left him without a word of thanks? She found herself slowly pressing her body against the window, trying to inch away from the boy, trying to create some space between them. He was probably furious, and had skipped a week of school as a result. She jumped when his head hit the table, face down.

As she continued to watch him, his head turned gradually, until his face was pointing in her direction. His startling blue eyes locked with her pale lavender ones and she found herself entranced and unable to look away. He frowned at her for a moment, and Hinata blushed under his intense gaze. Below them, the lesson was underway, but Hinata could barely hear her sensei's words. Her heart was pounding; her ears were filled with the sound of her heartbeats as those piercing blue eyes seemed to stare right through her.

The frown, if she had paused to examine it more closely, was not one of anger but of curiosity. As the blood rushed into her face, making it redder and redder with each passing moment, his puzzled expression suddenly cleared up, and a wide grin unfurled across his face. It was a dramatic change, and Hinata watched bemused as he sat up and leaned towards her.

"Hey, I remember you!" he whispered. "You're the girl from the forest right? Do you remember me?"

Hinata was still somewhat dazzled and unable to speak; instead she forced herself to nod in response. His grin, if possible, became even wider, revealing his pearly whites. It was a breath taking smile, one that was innocent and childlike and radiated with honesty and pure joy. Hinata was enraptured. Since her mother passed away, there was no one who spared Hinata a kindly smile at her home. All she knew were the disapproving looks of her father, the contemptuous glares of her cousin Neji and her little sister Hanabi and the forced smiles of the Branch members.

Yet here was a boy who didn't even know her, and had even been beaten senseless on her account, smiling at her like she was his best friend. "That's good. I'm glad that you're alright. Those guys haven't been giving you any more trouble have they?"

She wordlessly shook her head, wishing that she could say something, anything. At the very least, she had to thank him for saving her. He continued on speaking, oblivious to her internal struggles. "That's a relief. Hey, you don't talk much do you?"

Her eyes widened and she shook her head, opening and closing her mouth several times, trying to force out a word, any word. "H-Hinata." she spluttered.

"Huh?"

"M-My name is H-Hinata." her stutter was back in full force, making her small sentence nearly unintelligible.

"Oh, so you can speak!" he grinned as she blushed harder. "Ha-ha, I'm only teasing. I suppose I should introduce myself too." he straightened up in his seat, his expression one of determination. An alluring gleam in his bright blue eyes ensured her full attention was on him.

"My name is Uzumaki Naruto! And someday, I'm gonna be Hokage!"

Hinata stared at him wide-eyed. Such determination, such confidence... It was like he didn't have any self-doubt, like he knew that he was definitely going to become Hokage. Her feeling of awe turned to one of embarrassment as she realized the classroom was completely silent. Naruto seemed not to have noticed, instead continuing to grin his foxy grin at her.

A single snort of laughter broke the silence, and soon, the whole class, including the teacher were laughing and pointing, mocking poor Naruto. Various comments about how a squirt like him could never become Hokage were thrown his way, which only seemed to bolster Naruto's resolve.

"I will be Hokage! Then you'll see! I'm gonna be better than any Hokage before me, believe it!"

Hinata simply watched him as he made those bold statements. But somehow, somewhere deep inside herself, she knew they were true.

As the bell signalling the beginning of lunch rang loudly throughout the school building, Naruto was roused from his slumber. He lifted his head off the desk and stretched, yawning loudly. Hinata winced as the bones in his shoulders cracked and popped audibly. She jumped when he began to speak out loud, seemingly at no one.

"Hmm, I can't believe they broke into my home and dragged me to school by force! I didn't even have time to grab a cup of instant ramen. What am I going to do for lunch? Maybe I could sneak back home and..." he continued to muse out loud, his arms crossed over his chest while nodding to himself.

"Ano, I-If you'd like, you c-could have lunch with m-me," stammered Hinata, surprising both Naruto and herself. Before she could consider how boldly she was acting, she hastily continued. "I-I have a bento, and I'm always given m-more food than I can eat by myself. S-So if you'd like... I-I mean, you don't have to, of c-course, I..." her sentence slowly stuttered to a halt as a blush began to creep across her cheeks. Naruto had looked her way with a puzzled expression, head tilted at an angle as he considered her words.

He squinted at her, suspicion written all over his face. Hinata could feel her blush deepening but could not look away. _'Oh, I shouldn't have said anything, now it's awkward between us and I have no idea what to say and...'_

"Are you serious?"

"Ano..." his expression had changed again, to one of astonishment. "Y-Yes, It w-would be my p-pleasure to share my b-bento with you."

He still seemed rather shocked by the offer. For the first time, she noticed that he too seemed to have been rendered speechless.

"Wow," he muttered, before giving her a wide grin. "Thanks Hinata! Shall we go outside then?"

Stunned that he had actually accepted her offer, she nodded wordlessly. A few moments passed with neither of the two moving a muscle. A sweat-drop rolled down Naruto's cheek. "Lead the way?" he gestured towards the door.

Hinata stood up rapidly from her seat, feeling as if all the blood in her body was in her face. "Ano, I'm s-sorry Uzumaki-san."

The blonde boy smiled, and to Hinata, it felt as if the room lit up with that simple expression. "Just Naruto is fine."

For the first time since she had attended the school, Hinata scooped up her bento and left the classroom for lunch with a shy smile of her own on her lips.

"Thank you, Naruto-kun." she whispered.

~H~

The present day Hinata who was seated atop the stone head of the fifth Hokage was jerked roughly out of her pleasant memories by the sound of fireworks. Bright bursts of colour illuminated the sky for a few brief seconds before fizzling away into nothingness.

_'Much like our friendship,'_ thought Hinata, the smile that had been on her lips as a result of her reminiscing fading away with the memory of Naruto sharing a bento with her many years ago.

She shivered as the cold night wind blew past, tugging her jacket around her tightly to ward off the chill. Their friendship had started that day, and was one of the few highlights in the young heiresses' life. Back then, life had been almost like a dream. She had finally found a friend, and Naruto seemed less lonely, not spending nearly as much time as he would have on that wooden Ninja Academy swing.

The pair had been close, but after an incident one night during their final year, Naruto began to grow distant from her. He was still as cheerful and kind to her as he had always been, but somewhere along the line, he began to drift away from her. He spent less and less time with her during school hours, and always had an excuse not to see her at any other time. It was that one night that sparked the beginning of the end though, and to think the days preceding it had been almost perfect too...


	2. Part Two: Fading Dreams

**Hinata ~ A Distant, Fading Dream**

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**Part Two ~ Fading Dreams**

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Three days after the Allied Shinobi Forces had won the Fourth Shinobi World War, a celebration was held in the Village Hidden in the Leaves. It was a huge event that continued on late into the night without any signs of stopping. It had been a while since anyone in the village had a reason to celebrate, so the Godaime Hokage made full use of the opportunity to raise the morale of the citizens. But there was one young woman who did not join in the revelries. Instead, one could find Hyuga Hinata seated atop Tsunade's stone visage, gazing up at the star spangled night sky. An air of melancholy surrounded the young Hyuga heiress as she once again tried to distract herself from the painful truth.

Hyuga Hinata had lost. Haruno Sakura had won.

The prize had been Naruto's love and affection. The chance to be by his side until the very end. Hinata's face scrunched up in distress as tears filled her eyes; the image of Sakura kissing Naruto in a small medical tent appeared in her mind's eye once again, taunting her. Right after Naruto had been carried back from his last battle with Uchiha Sasuke, Sakura had insisted on tending to his wounds, allowing no one to see him until she was finished.

Hinata, who had been waiting for his return, stood at the entrance to the tent, hand placed tentatively on the flap. Now that the war was over, she could finally tell Naruto how she felt, and find out if he reciprocated those feelings. She had waited for months after her confession during the Invasion of Pain, yet he showed no sign of remembering what took place during the battle.

Mustering all the courage she could, Hinata pulled open the flap. Naruto's name died on her lips as Sakura bent down and kissed the blonde ninja tenderly, rendering Hinata speechless. She stood there staring, feeling her hopes and aspirations being irrevocably crushed and scattered by the cold wind blowing through the campsite. She gazed on in shock as her Naruto, the very person she sought strength from, her only childhood friend and the only person she dreamed of being with, was being held in the arms of another woman.

She turned away when his hands encircled Sakura's waist, gently pulling her closer as he got over the initial shock and participated actively in the kiss. Hinata began to walk away, feeling hollow and empty. Naruto had been effectively removed from her life, how could she go on without him? She would have to keep her distance, seeing them together would only serve to hurt her more. But was that for the best? Could she live in a world where she couldn't speak to Naruto, or see that incredible bright grin?

Hinata felt lonely. More alone than she had ever felt in her life. She surveyed the brightly lit village laid out below her through tear filled eyes, wiping them away when they threatened to spill on to her cheeks. It hadn't been easy for her these past few days, due to current events bringing back rather painful memories. Memories of a time when Naruto had been forcefully removed from her life, due to circumstances beyond their control. Still, those days had been amongst the saddest she had ever experienced, and she had hoped against hope that they were behind her, to no avail.

~H~

It was their final year in the preparatory school. The past two years had been the best of Hinata's life, and she was sure that as long as she was with Naruto, the third would be just as wonderful.

They had settled into a routine, Naruto would meet her at the end of her street in the morning and they would walk to school together. Today was no exception. As Hinata made her way down the footpath to the main street that led to the school, she raised her eyes expectantly and was not disappointed. Naruto stood at the corner, glancing around aimlessly until his cerulean eyes fell on her. She blushed when a mile wide grin unfurled across his face.

"G-Good morning, Naruto-kun." a wrapped bento swung gently in her left hand, freshly prepared earlier that morning.

"Morning Hinata-chan!" Hinata felt herself brighten up when he added the '-chan' suffix to her name. He had started using it a few months after they met, but it still made her feel special when she heard it. As far as she knew, he only added '-chan' to Haruno Sakura's name, so it definitely meant that he thought of Hinata as someone precious to him.

Her pale lavender eyes darkened for a brief moment as she remembered that Naruto was in love with another girl. Still, he didn't seem as open about as he used to be, and he made no secret of the fact that Hinata was a very precious friend to him... Maybe there was some hope for her after all.

Her train of thought was interrupted as she felt a firm but gentle pressure on her right hand. She glanced down, spotting Naruto's warm hand wrapped around her own small one. Her receding blush came back in full force, and she smiled shyly as Naruto began to speak to her, steering their conversation from the weather, to Ichiraku Ramen and briefly to the final exams coming up in a few months.

At lunch, they walked over to their usual spot, seeking the shade of their favorite tree from the blisteringly hot sun. Naruto threw himself down against the trunk, settling into his usual groove. Hinata placed the bento between them, seating herself opposite the blonde ninja-in-training. As she unwrapped the cloth surrounding the bento, Naruto's eyes widened in amazement.

Before him sat one of the most exquisite lunches he had ever laid eyes on. Hinata had taken it upon herself to make their bentos the previous year, and her cooking was usually fabulous. On the odd occasion that something didn't turn out quite as well as she'd hoped, he made sure to eat it anyway, and complement her cooking skills afterwards until she blushed with joy.

Hinata giggled softly as she observed his response to her cooking. His awestruck gaze told her that she had done a good job. _'Of course, presentation is only part of the package.'_ she thought, feeling nervous once again.

"It looks amazing Hinata! But you're making feel really bad you know," he said, watching her initial smile turn into an expression of mild shock. "You've gone to the trouble of making these fantastic lunches for the past year and a half, and I haven't even treated you to... Well, anything!"

She smiled. Naruto truly was a kind and considerate boy. But whenever he offered to buy or do something for her, she would politely refuse, instead giving him a simple answer in her most quiet and subdued voice.

"You've already done so much for me. This is the least I can do for you." she quietly mumbled her usual line, her implied meaning behind it just as sincere as all the other times. And in her eyes, he had done more than enough. In fact, it was a continuing effort on his part, so she made sure that she did her best to repay him whenever she could. It was a simple reason, one she had not revealed to him out loud, but it meant the world to her.

He was her most precious friend.

Uzumaki Naruto accepted her like no one else in her life ever did. He was her friend because he wanted to, because for some reason, he liked the shy, weak-spirited and quiet girl that she was. He put up with all her traits that caused her father to dislike her, and genuinely enjoyed her company. She had asked at the end of their first year why he was friends with her, receiving a hurt look in response.

_"Do you even need to ask? You are my first and closest friend, and I don't know what I would do if you weren't." _he had surprised her with a long warm hug, which showed Hinata through his actions that he meant every word.

"..." Hinata watched as he opened his mouth to speak and then closed it again, a sad smile on his lips. She knew he had been expecting that line, and as usual, did not have a response. He didn't completely understand what it was that Hinata was referring to, but when he gazed into her eyes, seeing the honest affection and gratitude she held for him seemed to be enough of an explanation. He understood at a subconscious level, and never pressed the issue. But he always became a little more protective of her, trying to live up to whatever it was that Hinata saw in him.

She silently handed him a pair of chopsticks, and he took them gently, almost with an air of reverence. Hinata knew it always touched him deeply when she made lunch for the two of them. Growing up without a mother, he had never had the pleasure of tasting a home cooked meal. The fact that Hinata made and shared a meal she had put a lot of effort into with him meant more to him than he could ever express in words. Hinata knew that he was aware that she understood; they understood each other to the point where words weren't necessary.

The two quietly mumbled "Itadakimasu!" and dug in, enjoying the extra special lunch and the other's company.

As the school day ended, and the pair of friends were free of their sensei and his warnings that exams were coming soon, the pair made their way to the spot where they separated for the day. The sun was setting, bringing an orange glow to the streets of Konoha. As they arrived at the turn off to Hinata's street, Naruto turned abruptly, facing the dark-haired girl. His gaze was intense, sending shivers down her spine. It was times like this that she thought that Naruto was looking right through her, with her inner most secrets laid bare for him to see.

"Hinata-chan," he began, his voice soft.

"Y-Yes, Naruto-kun?"

He gazed off towards the orange sunset, carefully thinking over his words. She waited patiently, knowing that this was one of those moments when he spoke to her from the bottom of his heart.

"I want to thank you. Not just for today's lunch, but for every lunch you've ever shared with me. And also, I want you to know that I am immensely grateful that you are my friend."

Hinata was stunned. What had brought this on?

"Do you remember my first day at the school?"

She nodded, not daring to interrupt. He continued on, his eyes focused on the setting sun. His face was bathed with the sun's dying rays, making him glow.

"When I first came to school, I was a week late. But I tried every day on that first week to walk into that classroom, and each time, I lost my nerve. I had no friends, and no one wanted to be friends with me. Whenever I went to the playground, the kids would ignore me, or say awful things to me. They would say "My parents told me you're a troublemaker!" and stuff like that when I asked them why they wouldn't play with me."

Hinata listened closely, feeling a deep sadness tug on her heart. She had known the adults hadn't treated Naruto kindly, but she hadn't known the kids had been just as bad.

"So I would walk up to the gate, remember all those painful words and then go home. However, the Hokage noticed that I wasn't attending class, and he sent a chunin on that day to drag me to school. The guy didn't say a word, but he looked at me with such contempt that I wondered _'Just what did I do? Why do they all look at me like that?'_"

Naruto seemed to be struggling to speak. Without being consciously aware of it, she found herself holding his hand in both of hers, trying to comfort him any way she could. His hand gently squeezed hers, and he seemed to find the resolve to continue.

"When he dragged me into class, I looked around at our classmates. I didn't see one friendly face, not a single smile. Instead they were all whispering behind their hands to each other, and I felt worse with every moment as I stood in that room."

He turned his gaze away from the last rays of sun peeking over the horizon. He faced her, and smiled. A gentle smile that radiated gratitude. "And then I met you."

He placed his other hand on top of hers and held them firmly. "I recognized you straightaway, but I didn't know how you would respond. I was nervous that you might hate me as much as everyone else and I almost didn't speak to you. But there's something about you, this calming air that gave me the courage to talk, to ask if you remembered me. And you know what? I'm immensely glad that I did."

He enveloped her in a hug, and she stiffened in shock for a few moments, before relaxing and tentatively returning the embrace. "So what I'm trying to say is thank you, Hyuga Hinata, for giving me a chance, and for being the greatest and most precious friend I will ever have."

Elation filled her senses. She couldn't say a word, but the biggest smile she could manage graced her features. Her heart was thumping in her chest, and tears of joy rolled down her cheeks. She suddenly found her voice and answered in a rush.

"Oh Naruto-kun, I can say the same about you. I'm so very glad that you came into my life... I..." she was overcome with emotion, instead choosing to return Naruto's embrace full force, hoping he would understand. She heard his melodious chuckle, and knew that he did.

If she had known that was the last time they would ever hug like that, or even enjoy the closeness their friendship brought them like that again, she would have never let him go.

~H~

The Hyuga Hinata of the present sighed sadly, a mournful sound that carried undertones of despair and longing. Above her, the pale glow of the full moon and its surrounding sea of stars shone down on her lonely perch atop the Hokage Monument, emphasizing how well and truly lost and alone she was without her Naruto. Where had those wonderful days gone? Every memorable moment with the blonde-haired ninja had been like a dream, the best sort of dream that one did not wish to wake up from.

But as she had learned in the most brutal of ways, everyone wakes up eventually. No matter how hard one may try to cling on to that fleeting vision, in the end, it inevitably eludes their grasp, disappearing into the darkest corners of the mind. And the day her dream began to fade away, growing ever distant as time passed by unfalteringly, was the day when her father found out about Uzumaki Naruto.

~H~

Young Hinata was positively gushing with joy. Naruto had hugged her! He'd called her the greatest friend he would ever have! Nothing else that anyone could have said to her would have made her as happy as she was now. She wandered up to the front door in a daze, barely remembering to bow to the Branch Members who opened the heavy yet elegant wooden door for her.

_'A boy like Naruto-kun is my friend! And he called me his most precious friend! I-'_

"Hinata_-sama_, Hiashi-sama wishes to see you." a contemptuous voice broke through her train of thought; bringing her back to the present with an unpleasant jolt. Her eyes glanced about confusedly before settling on the young boy standing at the entrance to the corridor, imposing in every way.

Hinata's cousin Hyuga Neji had never liked her. For reasons beyond her, he took every opportunity to speak down to her, under the guise of addressing her respectfully. He even managed to place an emphasis on her '–sama' suffix that made it seem like an insult. All the happiness she had felt before vanished in an instant, and not just due to Neji's ominous presence.

"F-Father w-wants to s-speak to m-me?" irritation flashed briefly on Neji's usually impassive face, just for a few moments, before his forced monotonous voice delivered the answer. Hinata winced; she knew Neji's found her stutter annoying. But she couldn't help it, and if anything, the stress of the current situation was making it worse.

"Yes, Hinata_-sama_. He is waiting in the Clan Meeting Hall. Excuse me." he brushed past her without a second glance, clearly wishing to spend as little time as humanly possible with the Hyuga heiress.

"Sit." the simple command was uttered the moment Hinata stepped into the spacious meeting room. She hastened to bow respectfully before kneeling on the cushion opposite her father's on the other side of the long table in the centre of the room.

Hiashi began without preamble. "Hinata, it had been brought to my attention that you have been spending an unhealthy amount of time with one Uzumaki Naruto." Hinata did not miss the slight undertone of distaste in her father's voice when he spoke the name of her best friend. Hinata kept her gaze firmly on the wooden table, not daring to look her father in the eyes.

Hiashi waited, and upon realizing that Hinata was not going to respond, continued on speaking. "Despite my displeasure, I allowed you to maintain your friendship with the boy as he seemed to have a positive effect on your self-confidence. However, recent reports brought to me by Neji have forced me to reconsider."

His words caused Hinata's eyes to widen in shock. Her father had known about Naruto? She had gone out of her way to make sure her father never found out about their friendship, since she knew that the Hyuga Clan as a whole did not approve of the blonde-haired boy, for reasons unknown.

"We of the Hyuga are among the most prestigious clans of Konohagakure. As such, we are expected to maintain a certain public image at all times. Rigid composure, impeccable manners and personalities of calm indifference are hallmarks of the members of the Hyuga Clan. As such, overly fond gestures and public displays of affection are not, and will not, be tolerated."

Hinata felt a cold shiver run down her spine. Neji had seen Naruto hugging her? He had told her father about it too? Hiashi eyed her coldly, maintaining his ramrod straight, upright position with practiced ease. She could feel his eyes burning into the top of her head, but she refused to meet his gaze. Her own eyes came to rest on her hands, twisting nervously in her lap. _'What is he going to do? Will he tell me to never see Naruto again?'_

"The boy known as Uzumaki Naruto is notorious for being a troublemaker. He has been ostracized by the villagers for being a nuisance and a living memory of a dark and bloody stain on the history of Konoha."

_"A stain on Konoha's history? What could Naruto have done?"_ she had often wondered why the adults treated Naruto like dirt, often being undeniably cruel for no apparent reason. But Naruto took it in stride, saying that by having Hinata as his friend, their words didn't bother him. But they bothered Hinata, and as far as she knew, the villagers seemed to hate Naruto simply for being alive_._

"The elders and I agree that we do not want that boy to be associated with the Hyuga name. To this end, I forbid you from interacting with Uzumaki Naruto on a personal level."

_"I forbid you from interacting with Uzumaki Naruto..."_ those words, those harsh, brutal words were the cold steel blade that she felt sliding slowly into her fragile heart. She could not believe it. A look of horror settled on her features, but her father had more to say.

"Furthermore, to ensure that he will not pose a problem by objecting or seeking to subvert my authority by other means, I have ordered Neji to 'convince' the boy to leave you be through any method he deems necessary."

"No!" father and daughter glanced at each other in mild surprise; neither one had expected Hinata to speak out, to object as loudly as she had. Hiashi's brow furrowed as he noticed the tears in her eyes, threatening to spill at a moment's notice.

"Y-You can't..." her objections were silenced by his ferocious glare.

"I am the head of the Hyuga Clan; my word is law in this place. I will not tolerate being spoken back to by my daughter. Furthermore, a weak and pitiful being such as you has no business telling me how to run this clan. Leave me now; I grow weary of your presence."

Hinata numbly staggered to her feet, unable to grasp what her father was ordering her to do. She couldn't freeze Naruto out of her life at the drop of a hat nor could she argue with her father about it. As she bowed and turned to leave, her father's cold voice stopped her in her tracks.

"Remember this, and remember it well. If you make any sort of attempt to maintain a friendship with Uzumaki Naruto, there will be severe repercussions... And they will not fall solely on you. If you wish to protect your former friend, heed my warning, and heed it well."

She couldn't breathe. She ran from the room as fast as she could, desperate to get away before more awful words could be said. She sprinted through the empty hallways, eventually reaching her lonely room near the back of the compound. Sliding the door open, she tumbled miserably onto her bed, landing face first amongst the soft pillows and toys that adorned her place of rest.

She sniffled. Somewhere out in the village, Neji was hurting her Naruto. And he would do it again and again if she did not sever her ties with the blonde boy. But Naruto was too stubborn, too loyal and caring to just end their friendship at the whim of a stranger.

Her day had turned from one of the best in her life to the very worst in a matter of moments. Her eyes burned with unshed tears, and finding herself on the edge of despair, did the only thing she could: weep for her broken dreams. She was weak, she knew that and once again it had gotten in the way of her happiness.

Finally giving in, the tears began to flow, darkening the bright orange fabric of her pillow, heralding the approach of a dark and bleak future.

The next day, Naruto did not turn up to school. Hinata was out of her mind with worry. She knew how strong Neji was; her sparring matches with her cousin often ended in her lying bruised and battered on the padded floor of the Hyuga dojo. Hinata turned her head, gazing out at the playground outside her window. The lesson continued on but she paid it no mind. She could feel the emptiness of the seat next to her, the lack of Naruto's presence beside her was almost like a physical void both by her side and in her heart, one that made her feel very much alone.

At lunch, Hinata found herself at their usual place by the large tree in the playground, staring at the groove in the tree where Naruto had sat countless times, a large bento swinging idly in her hand. She sat herself down opposite Naruto's spot, placing the bento in the middle as she always did. She unwrapped it slowly, pulling off the lid and presenting a lunch even better than the day before to the Naruto-less tree trunk.

The sheer loneliness of the situation struck her then; her delicate hands covered her face as tears began to course down her cheeks and her shoulders shook with sobs.

~H~

The older Hyuga Hinata felt tears prick the back of her eyes and hastily blinked them away. She had toughened up during the war, and it wouldn't do to be brought to tears by a childhood memory, undoing all of her progress in the process. Her legs had fallen asleep, and she wiggled on the spot, trying to regain feeling in her appendages.

She found herself sliding closer and closer to Tsunade's stone hairline; from that point onwards, falling off the top of the head would find Hinata dashed against the stone nose below, before free falling to the base of the monument. She peered hesitantly over the carved middle parting, trying to gauge the distance from the head to the ground. Her efforts were for naught; the base of the monument was shrouded in darkness.

Hinata swung her legs over the edge of the stone head, allowing them to dangle into the abyss. She watched as the last of the fireworks exploded, painting the night sky with hues of orange and red. Cheers began to ring out, no doubt celebrating the triumphs of the war heroes. Yet here she was, all by herself, distancing herself from the revelry. She knew she shouldn't feel so alone; it had been years since she and Naruto had been so close, and had been the other's only friend. Since the incident, Hinata had been taken in by Sakura, Ino and Tenten, who had taken pity on the lonely girl sitting by the large tree in the playground by herself every lunch time.

They had welcomed her warmly, more so since Naruto was no longer around. They seemed to genuinely enjoy her company, despite the fact she said only a handful of words whenever they were together. Hinata was grateful for their company; they managed to ease the feeling of loneliness that threatened to engulf her. But neither of the girls could fill the void Naruto had left in her heart, and she often wondered how he was or if he had made any new friends like she had.

Hinata sighed loudly, the sound whipped away by the steadily strengthening breeze. During class, Naruto had acted like she wasn't there; that had been deeply wounding to the delicate Hyuga. It wasn't until later in the year, when the final exams were about to commence, that she found out why Naruto had taken it upon himself to cut her out of his life so completely.

~H~

Hinata could remember the day very clearly. She had finally found where Naruto spent his lunch times two weeks prior - at an old wooden swing on the Academy side of the playground. Strictly speaking, students of the Preparatory School weren't allowed there, but for reasons unknown to the Hyuga heiress at the time, people generally ignored him, treating the swing like it was just an empty piece of playground equipment.

Hinata had taken it upon herself to watch him from a distance, to see how he was faring. To her dismay, he was still alone and looked worse for wear. When he was alone, his ever present grin slipped off his face, leaving behind an expression of pure sadness, an expression that no mother would ever want to see on their child's face. But Naruto had no one to cheer him up. There were no parents or siblings waiting for him when he got home and no friends for him to spend time with. He was all alone, and it broke her heart to see him like that.

"Uzumaki Naruto," She jumped as Hyuga Neji approached Naruto, stepping into the shade cast by the tree. Quick as a flash, Naruto's false cheerfulness returned to his features, succeeding only in further upsetting the concealed Hinata. "I trust you've been holding up your end of the deal?"

Naruto's expression turned sombre. "You know I have. I gave you my word didn't I? And I never go back on my word."

"Considering the beating I had to give you to force that promise out of you in the first place, I hope you'll excuse me if I'm sceptical." Neji's impassive tone took on a sarcastic edge near the end of his sentence. Hinata covered her mouth, feeling shock course through her system. How badly had Naruto been hurt because of her?

"Scepti-what?" Neji shook his head, smirking as he did so, as if confirming Naruto's apparent stupidity. He towered over Naruto, attempting to accentuate his superiority while addressing him.

"Never you mind, I doubt a boy like you could fully grasp or truly appreciate the intricacies of our language." Neji leered at the younger boy as he spoke. "Instead, why don't you repeat the promise you made, just to show me that even an idiot such as yourself can remember something so simple."

Naruto scowled at the white-eyed boy before speaking. "You told me to leave Hinata alone, to completely ignore her and have absolutely nothing to do with her, or else you'd beat her the same way you did to me for twice as long." Naruto's fists were clenched and shaking with fury as he repeated the words.

"That was not quite what I said; nonetheless, your less than eloquent version seems to have the gist of the message. Remember, she and I live in the same compound, and her father said I could use any means necessary to keep you in line."

"Yeah yeah," the sound of the bell signalling the end of lunch reverberated through the school grounds. "Well, that's the bell; don't you think you should be heading back to class?"

Neji glared at Naruto, but did not deign to reply, instead choosing to stalk off towards the Ninja Academy. His roving eyes landed on Hinata, his eyes locking with her own. She shivered under his intense glare before turning around and sprinting from her hiding place behind a pair of bushes, heading for the safety of her classroom.

She could feel Naruto's eyes on her back as she ran, and she wanted nothing more than to turn around and hug him, to try and banish the aura of loneliness that surrounded him.

~H~

Hinata's hands clasped together over her chest as she watched an impromptu parade begin its march down the main street of Konoha. Even back then, Naruto had looked out for her, sacrificing his happiness for her safety. It still touched her to this day how caring he had been, and how he'd tried to protect her despite the orders of her father.

_'That's just the kind of person he is,' _she thought as a brief rush of warmth, a giddy feeling she had long since come to associate with Naruto, rose in her chest. _'Selfless and caring and... Taken.'_

An image of Sakura appeared in her mind, crushing the warm feeling and replacing it with the heavy weight of sorrow. Naruto was no longer someone she could watch from a distance; it would hurt her too much to see him in the arms of another woman. All she had left were her memories of their days together, and even those would fade with time. But certain memories were more precious than others, and they were of Naruto's actions during their years as genin in the Ninja Academy. Those memories were a testament to their past friendship, and would live on in her dreams, weathering the tests of time.


	3. Part Three: Distant Dreams

**Hinata ~ A Distant, Fading Dream**

* * *

**Part Three ~ Distant Dreams**

* * *

Dreams. Hinata once thought of them as a driving force that could help anyone achieve their true potential. She thought she learned from her beloved Naruto that having a dream made one an unstoppable force, ploughing forward no matter what lay ahead. But she discovered in the most brutal of ways that dreams have the potential to be both a strength and a weakness; when one has a dream, they are motivated to strive for excellence; nothing can hinder that journey to the final goal. But at the same time, dreams can be the cause of failure, making one question why they are even alive. To lose the dream is to lose ones' self, because with nothing to aim for, nothing to achieve, there is no meaning to that person's existence.

Hyuga Hinata lost her dream. Since she stumbled upon that heartbreaking scene in the medic tent nearly three days ago, Hinata had been restless, trying to think of any horrible thing she must have done to have her Naruto taken from her. But the snide voice in her head knew the exact reason, and never hesitated to mockingly echo it in her mind when she was at her lowest. This wasn't karma, or the work of some higher power. The reason was simple:

Hinata was weak.

She didn't have the strength to fight for her dreams, could never seize the moment when it came her way. She simply could not take the initiative, allowing life's many wondrous opportunities to pass her by, and then regretting it later down the road. Her early life had been nothing but regret and woe, more so after Naruto was separated from her during the incident.

Many fortuitous events occurred around her, but she was never a part of them, merely swept along as other people grabbed those opportunities. Hinata thought her weakness defined her; that without it, she wouldn't be the person she is now. She believed that because of her lack of courage, there was no way she could ever change her future.

Self-doubt is a horrible feeling, and without Naruto by her side, encouraging her with that bright grin of his, she was convinced that the strength she had when she was with him was forever lost, trapped in another time when life was much more simple.

When they were kids, life had been easier. There was no pressure to start a relationship with him, since she was the only one who thought of him in that way. Young Hinata thought that she would have all the time in the world, and that she was comfortable in her relationship with Naruto at the time. But all it took was a hug to ruin the best times of her life, and because she failed to muster up the courage to admit her feelings to him, she lost her closest friend.

Hinata wasn't the only one suffering from the incident. Naruto took it hard as well, and in the months after, behind his bright false grin and cheerful demeanour lurked an immeasurable depth of sadness, laid bare for the observant to see in his darkened blue eyes. Naruto depended on Hinata for emotional support, but unlike her, no one was willing to show the orphan boy any love or friendship or any form of positive encouragement to alleviate the pain that only the lonely knew.

Hinata reluctantly moved on after the incident, mainly thanks to the friendship shown to her by Sakura, Ino and Tenten. She didn't have a choice, they wouldn't let her stay depressed, claiming she was one of those people that could not be left alone.

Naruto had probably noticed that about Hinata as well; he had never left her side at school unless something was unavoidable. During their brief friendship, he cared for her like no one had since her mother passed away. He knew then that she depended heavily on him and as she had noticed during their genin years, he hadn't forgotten it either.

~H~

Hyuga Hinata was worried, so worried in fact that her old nervous habit of pressing her index fingers together had returned. Kurenai-sensei had given them the choice of taking the Chunin Exam by saying that if one member was not feeling confident, then choosing not to take the exam was fine. What she didn't say was that if one member didn't participate, then neither could the other two members of the team. It was a hidden test to find out how dedicated each member of Team Eight was to improving and becoming stronger, and the young Hyuga heiress was panicking.

Hinata had figured out the implied meaning behind her sensei's words, even if Kiba didn't. But he had already made up his mind, so the choice fell solely upon Hinata. Shino made no indication that he had understood, but Hinata knew that he was smart; it didn't take him long to look underneath the underneath, as a good ninja should. And Shino was dedicated to improving himself not only in his clan's techniques but as a shinobi of Konohagakure as well, so his participation in the exam was extremely likely.

Hinata had left their team meeting feeling a great deal of pressure weighing down on her shoulders. If she chose not to show up for the test, then her teammates would be disappointed and possibly angry with her for her lack of courage. On the other hand, she really wasn't sure if she was ready. How could someone as weak as her take on a monumental challenge like the Chunin exams?

Her aimless wandering took her all over the village. As she made her way along the main street of Konoha, becoming increasing flustered as she failed to come to a concrete decision, she yelped when a hand reached out and grabbed her jacket, yanking her through a row of small curtains.

The hand released the soft fabric of her jacket, moving to and patting a stool in front of a polished wooden counter. Hinata's eyes slowly moved from the hand to the sleeve of the mystery person's jacket... a jacket she recognized at once. Her heart skipped a beat as the familiar shade of orange of her former best friend's jumpsuit and the smell of freshly prepared ramen registered in her senses.

She was standing inside Ichiraku Ramen, and as her gaze slowly rose to meet his own, she found herself staring into the dazzling cerulean eyes of Uzumaki Naruto. He grinned widely, a sincere grin that she hadn't seen on his face in a long time as he leaned towards her. "Hey, I remember you!" he whispered. "You're the girl from the forest right? Do you remember me?"

Hinata could feel tears welling up in her eyes as the memory of their meeting on his first day of school flashed through her mind. All she could do was nod as a smile of her own formed on her lips, a feeling of warmth and joy banishing the anxiety in her heart.

Naruto chuckled. "Still don't talk much do you?" Hinata shook her head and opened her mouth to speak. What came out could only be described as a squeak, making the dark haired girl seem more mouse-like than ever. Naruto laughed and ruffled her hair as Ayame approached the two to ask for Hinata's order.

After the brunette had left, chuckling to herself as Naruto asked her for his fifth serving, Hinata turned to Naruto, who was staring longingly into his empty ramen bowl. "N-Naruto-kun?"

He faced her with a gentle smile. "Yeah?"

Hinata swallowed nervously. "W-Why are you doing this?" Naruto's face took on a look of mock sadness that tugged at her heartstrings. She had seen his truly upset expressions before, and his current look, fake as it might have been, was a painful reminder of how lonely her former best friend was. A hurt tone in his voice only added to the ache in Hinata's heart but she persevered. Naruto knew it wasn't safe to be seen with her so why was he offering to have lunch with her?

"What? Can't a guy have lunch with an old friend? That's mean Hinata-chan." his smile faded as Hinata turned her face away, hands clasped tightly in her lap and eyes cast in shadow. Her heart leapt when he added the '-chan' suffix, but she pushed the thought aside. There was far too much at stake here to be thinking about silly things like honorifics.

She began to mumble quietly, staring intently at the scuffed countertop. "Naruto-kun, it... It isn't safe for us to be together, for either of us. I think I should probably leave before someone sees us-" she was cut off as Naruto gently clasped her cheek, turning her face towards him.

"Hinata-chan, I miss you." her heart stopped for a brief moment, before beginning to beat furiously. Her face assumed the completion of a tomato, and she found that she couldn't take her eyes off of his.

But he wasn't finished. His tender gaze was tinged with sadness as he spoke. "These last few years have been the worst. Without you I... I haven't felt truly happy for so long."

"Naruto-kun..."

"Do you remember how hard I worked just to get any attention in the Academy? How I had to act like a complete idiot just to get someone, anyone, to realize that I exist?" Hinata nodded, feeling her eyes tear up. Naruto had pulled all sorts of harmless pranks, but the other students laughter was directed at him, not with him. Sure, he seemed to take it in stride, but Hinata could see that it was an act. His grin, no matter how convincing it was, never reached his eyes.

His fake grin was plastered on his face now; he wiped away her tears with his thumb, keeping up appearances for her sake. "Ah, don't worry about it Hinata-chan! Those days are in the past. I have a team now and a really cool sensei, who's always late and..."

His voice petered out as he realized that his words were having no effect on the Hyuga heiress. His grin slowly slipped off his face, and he removed his hand from her cheek, clasping her hand in both of his. Hinata's pale eyes met his own; she could see that she was worrying him.

"Look Hinata-chan I just... wanted to be with you for a little while. Plus," a mischievous grin lit up his face, a real one this time. "Neji and your father would never come here. They're too full of themselves... No offense." he added quickly.

Hinata giggled despite herself. "None taken Naruto-kun."

"So what do you say? Will you let me treat you to some ramen?" she could see how much he had missed her. It was right there in his eyes. There was no way she could say no, even if she wanted to. He wanted to spend time with her again! She was feeling a little faint; she had been waiting for this for years. To finally spend time with Naruto again... It was all happening too fast. But she couldn't faint now; she would never forgive herself if she let this opportunity slip away.

"Y-Yes..." she couldn't say anything more, her face was flushed and she was flustered to the point where it was hard to breathe, let alone speak, but Naruto understood how she felt, grinning widely at her. He always understood her, like no one else ever could.

_'After all this time, he still cares about me. Thank you, Naruto-kun.'_

Hinata wandered away from the ramen stall in a daze, a smile still on her lips. She had spent a few happy hours with Naruto, laughing and enjoying herself as she only could with the blonde-haired boy. She wrapped her arms lightly around herself, remembering the warm hug Naruto had given her as they parted ways. This was their second hug; the first had been on the day when her father had ordered her to never see Naruto again.

A slight chill ran up her spine, dampening her good mood for a brief moment. Her father, if he found out about today, would definitely hurt Naruto... But there was no way he would find out...

Hopefully...

Even with such dark thoughts running through her mind, her mood refused to stay glum for long. Her smile crept back onto her lips, bright and happy and most certainly an unusual sight on the Hyuga heiress' face. She could still feel Naruto's warmth around her, a phantom hug that kept her in high spirits for the rest of the day. Naruto was right, neither her father nor Neji would go to Ichiraku Ramen. It wasn't as if their hugs were an omen of bad things to come, were they?

Unfortunately for the two friends, it seemed that they were.

Hinata had been with Sakura, Ino and Tenten when she heard the news. It was the evening before the Chunin Exams, and the four friends had gathered together at Ino's insistence to discuss the merits of taking the test. Hinata wisely chose not to bring up her secret lunchtime rendezvous with Naruto earlier that day; Ino was famous for being the gossip queen amongst the Konoha genin.

The four kunoichi stood on a small bridge over the river, the one that wove through the left border of the village, framed on either side by beautiful cherry blossoms. Ino nodded pointedly at Sakura, who was watching the water flow by, a distant look in her eyes.

"Well Forehead? What did you decide?"

Sakura slowly turned towards Ino, a deceptively sweet smile on her face and an angrily pulsing vein on her temple. "I decided I'm going to do it Ino-Pig. I can't bear the thought of Sasuke-kun going into the exams with only that idiot Naruto with him-"

"Naruto-kun is not an idiot!" All four girls wore identical expressions of shock. As her friends turned towards her, Hinata regretted speaking out. She hadn't meant to, but she felt a strong need to defend her beloved. It wasn't that she regretted sticking up for the blonde; rather it was the teasing she would have to endure that had her wincing under Sakura, Ino, and Tenten's curious gazes.

"Oh? Is that so Hinata_-chan_?" Ino's words carried a teasing tone that made Hinata blush and avert her eyes. "Could it be that you have a crush on Uzumaki Naruto?" she flipped her platinum blonde hair over her shoulder with a well-practiced flick of her head, preparing to taunt poor Hinata with a barrage of embarrassing questions in the way that only she could.

However, before Ino could say a word, Tenten stepped up to Hinata's side, placing a hand on her shoulder and glaring at Ino disapprovingly. "Leave her alone Ino, she's delicate." Hinata eyes refused to look up from her feet, but she was grateful for Tenten's support. Her cheeks were still flushed and it was all she could do to keep it from spreading across her face.

Ino huffed and turned her face away from the weapons mistress in training, an exaggerated pout on her lips. "I wasn't going to go too far you know... Anyway Sakura, you were saying?"

"Uh, yeah," Sakura glanced over at Hinata before continuing. "I think I'm going to take the test. Sasuke-kun is miles ahead of me where skill is concerned; it's all I can do just to keep up. And even Naruto is improving; he did pretty well on that last mission to Wave Country. If I can pass this test, I won't have to look at their backs as they stride ahead on the road of improvement without me, I can be there right beside them every step of the way." she turned to her friends, jade eyes shining with determination.

Ino simply stared at Sakura with a deadpan gaze. "W-What?" Sakura asked, feeling a little self-conscious.

"It was a 'yes' or 'no' question Forehead. Gosh." Sakura scowled and mumbled some very colourful words under her breath as Ino turned to Tenten. "And you?"

"Oh I'm definitely taking it this year. Guy-sensei held our team back last time because he didn't think we were ready. We've got a whole years' worth of training in and I'm feeling pretty confident." a kunai flashed into her hand from out of nowhere and she began to spin it around her finger, winking at Ino. "But you guys have only had a couple of high rank missions haven't you? Are you sure you're ready?" her words held a hint of a challenge, daring her three friends to accept.

"Oh you bet I am! My good-for-nothing teammates wouldn't do anything if I wasn't there." she sighed wistfully. "Oh, if only I was on Sasuke-kun's team, I'd even put up with Uzumaki Naruto just to be near that heartthrob!"

Sakura suddenly perked up, suddenly remembering something interesting. "Oh yeah, did you hear? Naruto was admitted to hospital this afternoon."

For Hinata, the world seemed to freeze. Her previous embarrassment left her immediately and she stared determinedly into Sakura's emerald eyes. "What happened?" she asked sharply, cutting through Ino and Tenten's mildly concerned responses.

"I, uh," Sakura was slightly disorientated by the change in Hinata's demeanour. The quiet girl with the dark blue hair was suddenly all business, emanating determination and urgency. "Well, I heard from Kakashi-sensei that Naruto was injured during training or something. That idiot doesn't even know his own limits-"

"How badly injured was he?" Hinata's steely gaze was focused entirely on the pink haired girl, who was utterly perplexed over the change in the timid girl's personality.

"I don't know exactly... But Kakashi-sensei said he might not be able to make it for the Chunin Exams... Oh!" she clicked her fingers excitedly as she recalled the conversation. "Naruto had a practice sparring match with one of your teammates Tenten! I think it was Hinata's cousin, um, what's his name, Neji I think."

"Really?" asked Tenten. "I wouldn't imagine Neji helping out anyone if it didn't benefit himself. I mean, Lee and I are barely a challenge for him, so what chance does Uzumaki have? I- Hinata?!"

Hinata had collapsed, falling hard onto her knees. Naruto hadn't been training with Neji, he had been attacked! If only she had known this would happen, she would have never agreed to lunch. It was a moment of weakness on her part, and the pleading look in Naruto's eyes was impossible to say no to, not to mention that she had really wanted to spend some time with him as well.

She covered her face with her hands, barely aware of her friend's concerned questions. It was all her fault. Naruto had been hurt because of her own selfishness. She still depended on Naruto, and he was more than willing to look out for her, no matter what the consequences were. But it mattered to her, and even though she was fully aware of what would happen if they were seen together, she still accepted his invitation! She should have known that Neji would find out; he was occasionally tasked with watching over her when she was alone.

Tears threatened to seep from her eyes as she was reminded of how weak she still was. She didn't have it in her to say no, even if it was to protect Naruto. She still allowed him to take her by the hand, to look after her like no one else would. She was unable to make it on her own and she despised herself for it. Her weakness was not only coming between herself and her dream, it was also hurting her dream.

Hinata slowly removed her hands from her face, gazing into her tear-stained palms. Sakura, Ino and Tenten were rubbing her back and whispering words of comfort that fell on deaf ears.

She stared numbly at the glistening tears collected in each hand. In the end, all she did was cry. She would look to Naruto to be inspired, to be motivated to work harder or to just be comforted by his wide grin and fiery spirit, never actually trying to solve her problems with her own strength. And that was the problem. As long as Naruto was around, she would continue to lean on him, to use his strength as her own. While it was true that Naruto was her motivator, the person she aspired to be like, in the end she wasn't using her own strength to solve her problems, instead fully relying on his kindness and compassion.

Maybe now was the time to start.

She slowly closed her fists, watching the liquid seep between her closed fingers and down the sides of her slender hands. Maybe her father was right. As much as she hated to admit it, cutting Naruto out of her life would be the best course of action, for his safety and her own sanity. Naruto wasn't the type to leave people like her alone. While she loved him for that trait, it would only bring him pain in the end.

What she needed to do was to see him. To see what she had inflicted on her beloved. To know that her current actions were having a detrimental effect on her Naruto. She was just a burden to him, always being looked after and protected by him. If she could convince herself to break her bonds with Naruto, she would be protecting him from her father and Neji. He would be able to stride forward on his road to becoming Hokage without having to look back to see if she was keeping up. She would have to watch him from a distance, but it would be enough for her to get by. His strength was her strength, so watching him rise to the top would undoubtedly be the motivation Hinata would need to become a powerful ninja and a strong person.

_'I want to become a great shinobi, strong like my father and kind like my mother!'_

Remembering her childhood goal, she abruptly stood up, making her friends jump. Then she began to sprint, running like she never had before. Everything around her blurred into the background: the streetlights, the sounds of her friends calling to her and the villagers milling about. As she leapt onto a nearby rooftop, the Konoha General Hospital was the only thing in her sights and only one sentence was on her mind, repeating over and over again like a mantra.

_'I need to see Naruto-kun!'_

When Hinata landed on the windowsill of the room that one of the nurses in the courtyard had told her was Naruto's, she was very much surprised to find the very boy she was looking for standing face to face with her on the other side, interrupted in the act of sneaking out.

Both Hinata and Naruto yelled out in surprise and both began to tumble backwards from the windowsill. However, while Naruto landed with a bump on the cold tiled floor of his room, Hinata began a life-endangering descent from the fifth floor of the hospital to the ground. Luckily for her, Naruto was blessed with the quick thinking and fast reflexes that allowed him to leap from the floor to the windowsill and quickly grab her flailing wrists.

"Gotcha!" he grunted, bracing himself against the windowsill and slowly tugging the young girl upwards. Hinata sighed loudly with relief, before mentally berating herself. She was doing it again! She was relying on Naruto to, very literally, catch her whenever she fell.

She placed the soles of her feet against the smooth white wall of the hospital and slowly directed the correct amount of chakra to attach herself firmly to the wall. She gently shook herself free of Naruto's grip, slowly straightening up until she was standing horizontally upright. Naruto poked his head over the small ledge outside his window, cutting through the beam of light from the newly risen moon. She noticed that the sun had set during her mad dash over the rooftops of Konoha, and a full moon surrounded by a sea of stars was shining down, casting the village in an ethereal light.

"Hinata? Wow, you've done the tree climbing exercise too? It took me so long to perfect it, even Sasuke-teme had trouble with it!" he was smiling at her as usual, but right now, smiling was the last thing on Hinata's mind. Even though his face was cast in shadow due to the moon being directly overhead, layers of clean white bandages wrapped around his head and face were gleaming in the pale moonlight. A thick pad of gauze was taped over his left eye and another was attached to his cheek, surrounded by severe dark bruising.

She winced as she pictured Neji inflicting all those injuries on poor Naruto as she walked carefully up the wall, stepping tentatively on to the windowsill before landing lightly in a cat-like crouch on the floor of Naruto's room. She stood immediately and faced Naruto, willing herself to look at what she had caused.

He was dressed only in his usual orange pants. The top half of his body was covered in more bandages and his left arm was in a cast. As she spotted the empty sling hanging around his neck, she realized that he had caught her as she tumbled off the windowsill with a broken wrist. A sharp stab of guilt rent through her heart, and she began to press her index fingers together as she struggled to come to terms with what she was about to do.

"Hinata-chan? Hey, what's...?" he stopped speaking as Hinata moved closer to him and placed her hands on his chest. She began to push him back towards the bed, gently but firmly. He barely resisted; Hinata knew that he could see her tear-streaked cheeks glistening in the moonlight. He let her gently seat him on the edge of the thin mattress and willingly got into bed without a single complaint.

Hinata began to fuss with his blanket, tucking it in securely but not too tightly, in case she aggravated one of his numerous injuries. As she straightened up, she could feel Naruto's eyes on her, silently questioning her actions. She closed her eyes and breathed in deeply, before turning to Naruto and beginning to speak.

"Naruto-kun, you are my closest friend. It's thanks to you that I have become the person I am today." He kept his eyes on her, barely blinking to show her that he was listening intently. She continued, barely noticing that her stutter was mysteriously absent.

"I've learned a lot from you. You are a shining example of true determination. By watching you, by being with you, I've learned that if I don't give up, no matter how many times I fail, that if I try my best then even I will eventually succeed... And prove to others and to myself that I am worth something."

He continued to watch her, waiting for the clearly important thing she wished to say. Hinata steeled herself to drop the bombshell on him. She had come this far, she couldn't turn back now. Both their futures rested on the decision she made today, and she had to go through with it.

"Even though I've got so much more to learn from you, and even though there's so much more I need to improve on, I can't continue like this if it means you will be hurt."

Naruto's eyes widened before he forced a reassuring smile on his face. "Huh? No no, you've got it all wrong! I was training and-"

"Stop!" he was doing it again, acting cheerful so that she wouldn't worry. "Please, Naruto-kun... I know that you were attacked, I heard it from Sakura-san even if she didn't quite understand what 'training' with Neji meant."

His smile slowly faded away, and his face took on a fatigued look. "So what are you trying to say Hinata-chan?"

"I want to end our friendship, to sever our bond permanently."

Naruto began to protest loudly until Hinata placed a slender finger on his lips, shushing him gently. She leaned towards him, whispering softly. "I know it's hard and painful, and I know you don't care if Neji and my father hurt you but I do. It hurts me to see you in pain because of me, even when there was something I could do to prevent it. Don't you see Naruto-kun? This is the best way for both of us. I don't want to see you like this again, all bandaged up in a hospital bed; I want to see you training hard, trying your best and never giving up on your road to becoming the Hokage. So please," tears welled up in her eyes and streaked down her cheeks, dripping on to Naruto's whisker marks. "Don't make this harder than it needs to be. Forget about me if you can, but I will always remember you. I'll be watching you from afar, so promise me that you will continue to be the person I admire."

She placed her hands on the sides of his head and gently kissed his forehead. "How could I ever forget you?" he whispered hoarsely.

Hinata stood up, gazed at his face one last time with a sad smile on her lips, and began to sprint to the window. She could hear Naruto yelling out her name and desperately tried to block it out. His face was burned into her mind's eye; she could see the tears in his own eyes as she leapt head first out of the window and into the cool night air.

As she landed on a nearby rooftop, she glanced back against her better judgement, hoping that Naruto would come chasing after her. But she knew it was impossible; she had used the special Hyuga technique of closing off chakra points to render Naruto immobile as she tucked him in. She had secretly tapped the tenketsu in his joints, making sure he wouldn't leave his bed for a good while.

She stood upon the rooftop for a single moment, wiping the tears from her eyes. Then she turned towards the Hokage Monument. She had a lot of heavy things on her mind, and a lot of thinking to do. She began to leap towards the stone likenesses of the past and present Hokages, barely aware of her surroundings. Hyuga Hinata was ready to stand on her own two feet.

It was time to face the first milestone in her career as a ninja: the Chunin Exams.

~H~

The parade was nearly at the village gate. As the present day Hinata watched, the villagers began a very messy turnabout, trying to lead the parade back towards the Hokage Monument. Even though the main street was nothing but a mass of moving bodies getting in each other's way, no one seemed to mind. Faint sounds of laughter echoed through the village as the parade began its long march back the way it had come.

When Hinata decided to break her bond with Naruto, her life, very much like the parade, began a long trip backwards, erasing nearly all of the progress she had made developing as a person. It had been a mistake, though she had not known it at the time. She had done it for Naruto's sake, so that at least one of them could have had a future.

It was a sad fact that Hinata, because of one simple decision, very nearly ruined her dream. Luckily for her, Uzumaki Naruto was not the type to leave a person in need alone. Right up to the Chunin Exams, the blonde jinchuriki was right there for her, every step of the way, even if she didn't realize it. He kept watch from a distance, making sure to honour the promise Hinata had asked of him. He made sure to live up to his ninja way, and to be the person that Hinata admired.

Bright flashes and loud bangs indicated the liberal use of cheap fire crackers. One could only imagine the amount of cleaning up that would occur the next day. But right now, celebrating the end of the war was the only thing going on in most of the villager's minds...

...Except for Hinata, and unknown to her, one other person. This person had more on their mind than just simply enjoying the festivities. They were in the centre of the celebrations, yet they were distanced from it, separated by lonely thoughts and a deep longing for a friend they lost long ago.


	4. Part Four: Remembering Forgotten Dreams

**Hinata ~ A Distant, Fading Dream**

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**Part Four ~ Remembering Forgotten Dreams**

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_"Please go out with me Sakura-chan!"_

_"No way in hell Naruto! I'll never go out with you!"_

_"Aw come on Sakura-chan, that's cold."_

Hyuga Hinata had spent the majority of the end of the war celebration alone atop the stone head of Tsunade, haunted by memories of the old days when her life had been much happier and when her life had been at its lowest. Remembering the happy and sad times she spent with Naruto allowed her to focus on the issue that had brought her to the top of the Hokage Monument in the first place to sort out her thoughts and feelings.

The love of her life, Uzumaki Naruto, was now dating Haruno Sakura, the love of his life, while she was left all alone, suffering in the dark without her dream. She was at the end of her rope, trying to figure out why her life had become one without the blonde jinchuriki in it.

Thinking on it had made her painfully aware about the well ingrained weaknesses she had yet to overcome. While her father had made sure to point them out in her youth, in recent years he had been more supportive and yet, she had come to realize that Hiashi's words still rang true. The troubled times that had been the Invasion of Pain and the Fourth Shinobi World War had brought out the best in her, allowing her to overcome several issues she wouldn't normally have had the strength to have done so.

Confessing to Naruto had been one of them; helping him fight Sasuke in the final battle had been another. Yet she still suffered from shyness and hesitation, second guessing her every action until she simply could not act, allowing precious opportunities to pass her by. She was still weak in spirit and motivation, and that was what was keeping her from fulfilling her grandest dream.

In fact, she would have undone all of her development as a person with Naruto because of her decision to cut Naruto out of her life completely during their genin days. By saying goodbye to him at the hospital after his final beating from Neji, she had very nearly bid farewell to her progress as a shinobi of the Leaf and her dream for Naruto's sake, even though that was neither what he wanted or needed. It was only due to Naruto's kindness, his inability to leave a person in trouble alone that ensured that she kept on growing into the person she was today.

The first time Naruto had saved her like that had been during the Chunin Exams, when she had faced her cousin Neji in the preliminary matches. Without his encouragement and support from afar, she doubted she would have ever reached that first real turning point in her life.

~H~

"Ha-ha! Too easy, too easy!" said Naruto as he waltzed up the stairs, grinning from ear to ear over his victory. Down on the arena floor, Kiba was being gently loaded on to a stretcher. He struggled with the medical personnel for a few moments, and then relaxed as Akamaru was placed gently on his stomach. As Hinata watched him being carried out from the balcony railing, Kiba sent her a meaningful look, prompting her to nod her understanding of his wordless message. Before the preliminary matches had begun, Kiba had taken the shy girl aside and begged her to forfeit her match if she was paired against the crazy redhead ninja from the Sand. Likewise, he also warned her against fighting Neji, who would be out for her blood if she was chosen to fight him.

Hinata had felt slightly guilty about unable to cheer for either of the combatants during the previous match. She knew she was supposed to cheer for her teammate, but Kiba had been fighting Naruto...

She pressed her fingers together nervously as Naruto arrived at the top of the flight of stairs, and began walking along the balcony to re-join his team. Naruto hadn't so much as looked at her during Chunin Exams, even when they had been seated together during the written test, which had been both a relief and a source of heartache for the young Hyuga.

She knew that she had brought this on herself for Naruto's safety, but a small part of her wished to at least see his smile, the special smile he reserved for her and her alone. The smile that was real, the smile that was honest, the smile he only wore when he was with her...

As Naruto began to walk by, Hinata took her chance, despite the obvious danger of having Neji standing only a few feet away. She reached back without turning around, using her Byakugan to direct her hand into his trouser pocket, where she deposited a small gift.

He jumped slightly at her touch, and then faced her with that heart melting smile of his. He mouthed "Thank you." somehow aware of the fact that her Byakugan was active and that she could see his face, even if he couldn't see hers.

Hinata blushed as he walked away, trying to stop the happy smile that had formed involuntarily on her lips during their little moment. Then it was over and Naruto quickly re-joined his team, while Hinata went back to shyly observing the ninja standing on the balcony on other side of the arena, waiting for the electronic board to announce the next battle.

Against her will, Hinata found herself watching Naruto out of the corner of her eye. He had pulled out her little gift and was in the process of opening it. She had slipped him a small jar of her homemade medicinal cream, and once he realized what it was, began applying it to his numerous wounds. Oddly enough, his cuts and abrasions began to steam gently as the cream was applied, miraculously healing over almost instantaneously. She watched in awe, aware of the fact that while her cream was good, it couldn't heal wounds that quickly.

_'You truly are the 'Number One Hyperactive Unpredictable Ninja'.'_ she thought, stifling a giggle. While she was curious as to how Naruto had healed his injuries so quickly, for the moment she would just put it down to Naruto's talent for achieving the impossible, at least until she had some time to herself to think it over.

"Wow! This medicine is great!" she heard Naruto exclaim. She placed a hand over her mouth to hide her smile of joy, not wanting anyone to ask her about it. Despite her best efforts, Neji was quick to spot her rare smile before it was concealed and frowned, disapproving of her seemingly enjoying herself in any situation. Luckily he had not seen the gift being delivered, which was a small blessing for Naruto.

"Hey Sakura-chan, do you want some?" Hinata's face fell instantly as Naruto offered the gift she made just for him to his crush. While she was glad when Sakura refused his offer in her usual haughty manner, she still felt upset. Did her gifts mean so little to him? Or did Sakura mean more to him than Hinata did?

She was jerked out of her gloomy musings by the sound of the electronic board flickering through the names of the remaining genin. She cast off her sad thoughts for the time being, watching the board anxiously. As the names settled into place, she felt her heart stop. A shocked exclamation from Naruto confirmed that what was on the board wasn't an illusion.

'Hyuga Hinata vs. Hyuga Neji.' The names of the two combatants to face off in the next match were scrawled on the board in large, seemingly ominous letters. Fate was surely mocking the young Hyuga heiress.

She looked to Naruto and caught his eyes. There was no need to distance herself from him now; Naruto couldn't help her even if she wanted him to. She felt a slight glimmer of happiness at the sight of Naruto's helpless frustration in being unable to do anything; it proved he had been as good as his word and hadn't forgotten her. Then the reality of her situation hit her, and she chided herself for those selfish thoughts. It would be better if Naruto simply forgot her and kept going forward without having Hinata dragging him down with her own unachievable aspirations. At least one of them should fulfil their dreams, and it was wrong of Hinata to stand in the way of Naruto becoming Hokage. As Neji started walking down the stairs to the arena floor, a barely restrained smirk raising the corners of his lips, her previous train of thought was derailed, giving way to fear and anxiety on a scale only Neji and her father could bring about.

Naruto's pained expression gave her an odd burst of courage. She had promised to stand on her own two feet, and now was her chance to prove it. Neji had been one of the people who ruined their friendship; by fighting him here, she would show Naruto through her actions that she had learned from his example, and could continue on the road to becoming a kind yet strong shinobi on her own determination and strength. Fearing that her courage would fail her like it so often did, Hinata forced herself began the slow walk down the stairs to face one of the biggest challenges in her young life. Each step was slow but steady, a sign of her infallible resolution.

Or so she thought.

Kiba forced the two medic nins carrying his stretcher to stop, and beckoned desperately to Hinata as she arrived at the foot of the stairs. She padded over to his side, placing her hand in the weapons pouch on her waist.

"Listen Hinata-san, you have to forfeit! He isn't going to go easy on you; he's going to take this chance to exact his revenge! I-"

"I-I will fight!" stuttered Hinata, surprising Kiba with the amount of force behind her words. "I am going to fight Neji nii-san and prove to everyone that I'm not weak!" the stunned look on Kiba's face told her that she's made her point. She withdrew her hand from her waist bag and placed a small jar of medicinal cream in his hands. "Thank you for your concern, Kiba-kun." she smiled and turned away, leaving a frustrated and anxious Kiba to be carried off to the infirmary.

Now that she was standing on the arena floor, Hinata was suddenly aware of how large the battlefield was. She walked carefully through the debris left from the previous battles. Strands of platinum blonde hair littered the floor, while the craters in the cement from the high powered 'barrage' attacks of Naruto and Sasuke and Kiba's fang-over-fang forced her to step carefully.

Her nerves were getting the best of her as she drew nearer to the middle of the arena, prompting her to draw on a memory of Naruto to bolster her determination. She barely stifled a giggle as she remembered Naruto's unfortunate... release... that had helped him turn the tables in his match against Kiba. The look on his face had been adorable; it wasn't often that the ever-confident Naruto got embarrassed. She quickly sobered up when she spotted a smear of blood on the ground, remembering where and why she was here.

Soon she stood opposite her cousin, unable to meet his barely concealed glare. The referee, Hayate Gekko, briefly observed the two fighters to see if they were prepared, coughed once and raised his hand. "Now, begin the match!" he yelled, dropping his hand and leaping back to the sidelines.

Hinata had barely begun to assume her Jyuuken stance when Neji began to speak, making her flinch. "Before we start the match, I'd like to say something, Hinata-sama." his cold white eyes stared impassively into her own, the distaste for his cousin evident in everything from his tone to his mannerisms.

The young Hyuga girl could feel her confidence eroding with each passing second. She had forgotten how overbearing Neji's presence was, how unwelcoming his aura was when she was around. She wanted to start the fight before she lost her nerve, but nodded slowly, giving him her permission to speak. She just wasn't sure if she'd like what she was going to hear.

"You will never become a great shinobi. Forfeit now!" Hinata's eyes widened in shock. His words had cut through her false bravado easily, resonating with her true feelings buried deep in her heart.

"You are too kind, you wish for harmony and avoid conflict, you agree with others and never attempt to voice your own views," his words weren't as harsh as they could have been, but it was unacceptable for a Branch member to openly critique a member of the Main house. But Hinata could still feel and see the intense hatred he had for her behind his words, it was right there in his eyes. "You have no confidence in yourself. You personally think that you are inferior to others and that's why I believe you could never become a Chunin, let alone a great shinobi. You don't believe in yourself."

Hinata was crumbling under Neji's verbal assault. Her dreams were being shredded apart by the harsh reality Naruto had helped her to forget. She truly was useless. Everything her cousin said rang true, but she still had to fight back, if not for herself then for Naruto. She had told the blonde she could stand on her own feet and change herself for the better. She opened her mouth hesitantly, wondering if she still had the resolve to speak. She couldn't disappoint her idol and make him worry about her.

"I... I can... I have to do this a-and change myself. I want to b-become better and fulfil my dream..."

Neji's eyebrows dipped in the slightest of frowns. "As I thought, you are a brat of the Main house. People cannot change themselves!" Hinata face was the very picture of alarm as his words washed away her fragile determination. "Failures will always be failures. Their personalities and strength cannot be changed by willpower alone. You speak of your dreams like you can accomplish them, but it's all talk isn't it?"

Behind Hinata and up on the balcony, Naruto's scowl became more and more pronounced as Neji continued to verbally beat down Hinata and crush her fragile resolve. "I...I..." Hinata was beginning to tremble. All she wanted to do was run. Run away as fast as she could, just to escape Neji icy glare. But two things made her stand her ground. One: she was too emotionally distraught to move and two: the last part of her mind still functioning properly remembered that Naruto was watching her, waiting for the proof that she could fulfil her dreams without his assistance.

"Because of the fact that people cannot change, differences between them manifest. Terms like 'elite' and 'loser' are made." said Neji, never taking his eyes off of his cousin's. "Looks, intelligence, ability, physical aptitude, personality... All people judge and are judged based on these values. Based on these unchangeable factors, people discriminate and are discriminated against. They suffer for it, stuck in their unchangeable lives heading for a predetermined fate. Just like the fact that I am from the Branch house and you are from the Main house cannot be changed."

Hinata was shivering now, eyes wide with panic. She began to press her index fingers together nervously, trying to find something to say, to defend herself and refute Neji's claims. But deep down she knew he spoke the truth, even if she wasn't ready to admit it to herself just yet. She glanced up from the floor and froze, feeling like a rabbit caught in a trap. Neji had activated his Byakugan, and the effect was terrifying. The bulging veins around his eyes only enhanced his scowl, making him seem even more menacing than ever.

"I have seen through many things with my Byakugan, so I know that you are pretending to be strong while deep down, you just want to run away and hide."

"N-No... I really..."

His icy white glare seemed to pulse with power, silencing her futile attempt to justify herself. She tried to recall a happy memory, anything to distract her from the fear clawing at her heart. Her eyes shifted up and to the left, trying to remember something Naruto had done for her; there wasn't a shortage memories in that department. Yet all she could remember was Neji's relentless punishing blows during their training and the disapproving glares of her father when she inevitably failed against her much more skilled cousin. He would definitely have made a better heir to the Hyuga legacy rather than herself.

Her eyes then drifted down and to the right unconsciously, imagining all the horrible things Neji would try to get away with during the match, justifying his actions as necessary in the heat of battle. She could see him as a demon in her mind's eye, existing solely for the purpose of ruining her happiness with Naruto... No, that wasn't fair, he was only following her father's orders, but at this point rational thought was beyond her. Finally her hands rose of their own accord, one holding herself protectively while the other rose to touch her lip.

Hinata flinched when Neji resumed speaking. "You can't fool my eyes," he said coldly. "Against my pressure just now, your eyes floated up and to the left. That is a sign that you are remembering painful experiences from your past. After that, you looked to the lower right, signifying that you are imagining physical and mental pain. Basically, you are thinking about yourself. From all your experiences until now, you are picturing the results of this match. You are imagining that you will _lose_!" the veins around his eyes pulsed menacingly, almost bringing Hinata to the verge of tears. He'd managed to read her mind solely through observing her body language. Hinata was not nearly as skilled enough to do that, proving that there was a massive gap in talent and skill between them.

Up on the balcony, Naruto was just about ready to burst. His face was a rictus of anger, his mouth locked in a furious snarl to match his scowl. His pupils had dilated and his canines seemed slightly longer and sharper than usual. A large vein at his temple threatened to burst when his temper did. And that would be happening soon, since Neji was continuing to degrade and mentally abuse his best friend. Hadn't he done enough to them already?!

Back on the arena floor, Neji still wasn't done with his scathing analysis of Hinata's body language. "By raising your arms in front of your body, you are trying to create a wall between us, to create a space between you and me. You are trying to hide your feelings from me because everything I have said is completely true. Furthermore," he narrowed his eyes menacingly as he spoke. "By touching your lip like that, you are revealing one of your many personality traits. This one expresses your anxiety, it's a defence mechanism to soothe your nerves and ease your worrying. So by now, you have realized..."

Neji stepped closer, and Hinata would have moved back accordingly, had she not been frozen to the spot with fear. As Neji finished his little speech, tears were streaming down her bruised and dirt streaked cheeks. She was shaking like a leaf, one that could be blown away by the slightest breeze. "...That you cannot change your-"

"YOU CAN!" Hinata twitched as Naruto's furious yell cut through Neji's poisonous words. She turned to face the irate blonde while Neji barely shifted his eyes to coldly regard Naruto. "STOP DECIDING THINGS ABOUT PEOPLE YOU IDIOT!" Hinata watched Naruto in awe, never having seen him so furious and worked up. She had stopped crying, feeling the tear tracks drying on her cheeks. "KICK THAT BASTARD'S ASS! HINATA!"

She gazed up at her idol, screaming in burning fury at Neji and cheering for her. She felt a blush creeping across her cheeks and a warmth in her chest, overpowering the cold, useless feeling that Neji had instilled in her. _'N-Naruto-kun...'_

_He_ was cheering for _her. Naruto_ was supporting _Hinata_, telling her to fight back. He didn't think she was weak or useless. He saw something in her that she couldn't. She looked down at her feet, gathering her thoughts. _'I...I can't let him down...'_

"Hinata, stand up for yourself! This is hard to watch, you have to fight back!" Naruto had shouted himself hoarse, and stood waiting for her response while rubbing his throat.

'_Naruto-kun... Thank you!'_

As Neji returned his gaze to Hinata, no doubt thinking something insulting about Naruto, his now Byakugan-less eyes widened slightly. Something had changed within his cousin's eyes. Hinata stared straight into his eyes determinedly, the fear and self-doubt he'd so carefully inflicted now erased from her gaze. "So you won't forfeit. I am not responsible for what happens."

Hinata closed her eyes briefly, forcing chakra up to her eyes. The veins around her pale lavender eyes bulged visibly on the surface of her skin. _'I will not run away!'_

In her mind, she could hear the most famous words of her beloved as clearly as if he were reciting them by her side. _"I never go back on my word. That's my ninja way."_

"I will no longer run away!" she said, placing a hand with two extended fingers in front of her face. "Byakugan!" said Hinata, opening her eyes and revealing her now activated bloodline.

Neji watched her little display with barely a change in his expression. However, using her three hundred and sixty degree vision, Hinata could see the surprised look on Naruto's face, coupled with a proud smile. She vowed then and there to prove to him that she deserved it. The fact that she was using Naruto's strength to fight this battle hadn't eluded her, but she decided to let it slip for the time being.

She assumed the Jyuuken stance, placing her left foot before her right and raising her arms with palms facing outwards out in front of her body. "Neji nii-san, prepare to fight!"

"Hmph. As you wish, Hinata_-sama_." Neji replied, settling into the same stance. There was the calm before the storm, where both fighters faced each other completely unmoving, waiting for the other to make the first move. Then simultaneously they rushed each other, engaging in swift ballet of palm strikes, blocks and lithely swaying as each dodged the other's attacks while barely moving their feet. Hinata could feel the eyes of the onlookers watching their quick yet graceful movements, but all her attention was focused solely on her cousin. She knew Naruto was watching her, and that was all she needed to keep going.

After a lengthy volley of blows and blocks, Hinata finally created an opening and struck without hesitation. Her chakra infused palm slipped through his defence and struck Neji soundly on the chest. He slid back a few metres and scowled, before sliding his foot forward in a half circle motion to force her to leap backwards. Then he was back on the attack, powering forwards to try and land a hit. Or so Hinata thought.

The fight seemed to be going her way. She had avoided most of Neji's strikes and blocked the rest, and landed four or five solid hits of her own. She felt a fresh wave of strength flow through her limbs when Naruto yelled "Yay Hinata! You can do it!" But as the battle wore on, Hinata began to suspect something was amiss. For all the palm strikes she'd successfully landed, it seemed like Neji wasn't slowing down, like he hadn't been affected in the slightest. Then it happened.

With an audible thud, Neji's right hand slammed into her chest, pushing chakra into her heart. Immense pain filled her senses as she coughed up blood. Surprised gasps from the balcony echoed her confusion. Hadn't her attacks been connecting perfectly?

"So this is it. This is the extent of the Main houses' strength." muttered Neji. Hinata noticed that he had struck her with both hands, his right over her heart while his left index and middle finger were jabbing into a spot on her upper arm.

"Not yet." she whispered, pushing forwards with her right palm, scoring a glancing strike on his shoulder. As soon as her attack connected, she expected his arm to give out, providing her with the chance to aim for his vital organs. Instead, the arm that should have been limp and unmoving rose up swiftly, jabbing two fingers into her elbow.

Grabbing her arm with his free hand, Neji slowly pushed her sleeve back, revealing several dark red blotches on her skin, almost like tiny bruises. Hinata's eyes widened with realization as she recognized the marks on her skin. "No way... So from the beginning..."

"Exactly. My eyes can see the tenketsu points." Neji replied, masking his smugness with a mask of Hyuga indifference. His bandaged and bloody hands released her arm, then in one swift motion, Neji sent her flying backwards.

"Kyaa!" yelled Hinata as she landed painfully on the smooth cement floor.

"Hinata_-sama_, this is the difference in talent that can never be changed. This is the difference that divides an 'elite' from a 'loser'. This is the reality that cannot be changed. At the point when you said 'I will no longer run away.' you were setting yourself up for pain and regret. You are probably overcome with desperation right now," he slowly eased out of his Jyuuken stance, standing straight and proper as was expected of the members of the Hyuga clan. "Forfeit now." he repeated.

Hinata slowly pushed herself up, blood dripping from her mouth as she began to speak. "I... Don't go back... On my word..." Neji's eyes widened slightly as he recalled where he'd heard those words before. "That is... also my ninja way!" she staggered to her feet, gazing tiredly up at the balcony where Naruto stood. She smiled when she saw him watching her intently, a look of awe written all over his features. As she panted exhaustedly, Neji's Byakugan activated without any hand signs, a visible reminder of his genius status.

"Come." was all he said, once again assuming the Jyuuken stance.

"Gah!" yelled Hinata as her heart throbbed painfully. Fresh blood welled up from her throat and splashed noisily onto the ground. Her body began to quake, and she stood still for a few moments, unintentionally hearing the comments being spoken between the observing genin.

"What incredible eyes..." she heard Ino mutter.

"Hinata-san won't get killed right?" murmured Choji between mouthfuls of chips.

"You know... that Neji guy's strength is amazing... It's almost not fair. He's seriously too strong." Sakura noted, not noticing Naruto's quivering as he sought to restrain himself. Finally, he could hold back to no longer.

"You can do it Hinata!" he yelled. The strength returned to her and the pain in her chest mostly subsided almost instantaneously. For the first time, Hinata activated the Byakugan without hand signs, having caught her second wind.

_'So this is the power of friendship... Naruto-kun...'_

With that, she charged forward, ready to fight. As soon as they connected, it was a high speed battle of strikes, blocks and dodges. But Hinata was fighting a losing battle. Her movements were noticeably slower, allowing Neji multiple strikes at her vital points before she could counter. Still, she kept up the fight. _'Naruto-kun, I have always watched you all these years. When we were together as best friends I drew inspiration from your example. Why is that?'_ she found herself thinking as she ducked under a wide palm strike and retaliated with her own. _'I don't know why but when I look at him, when I'm with him, I feel courageous. I feel that if I try my best, even I can achieve the impossible. I feel like I am worth something.'_

At that moment, Neji leaned to the right to avoid her attack, and then countered with a vicious palm strike that smashed into her throat, bruising her windpipe. Shocked gasps echoed amongst the Konoha genin as her blood flew in all directions. She coughed painfully, finding it difficult to breathe. As soon as she felt her lungs re-inflate, she was back on the attack.

_'Naruto-kun, in the past, I was the one who was always watching. But right now, you are-' _Neji slipped through her defence once again and slammed a chakra powered palm into her stomach, instantly dropping her. "Gaaha!" she yelled as she tumbled to the floor, clutching her internally wounded stomach.

"You do not understand anything," said Neji as he stood over her, enjoying the feel of superiority of having a Main house member squirming in the dust at his feet. "From the beginning your attacks have done nothing."

The jounins began commenting on how those blows to her heart and other organs guaranteed she wouldn't be getting up again. Hayate stepped forward to announce the victor. "It appears that continuing is impossible and thus-"

"Don't stop the match!" roared Naruto, making everyone around him jump. Sakura was the first to recover. Loudly.

"What are you saying you idiot! She's at her limit, she's unconscious!" Naruto, in a surprising show of resistance against his crush, simply nodded towards the spot where Hinata lay. As her eyes fell on the girl, the pinkette's face was the very picture of shock. That look was mirrored by everyone present, and even Neji had faint worry lines creasing his usual smooth brow. Naruto could only grin with pride as Hinata struggled to her feet, clearly on the end of her rope but determined to keep fighting. She held her stomach tenderly, shakily regaining her balance. Fresh red blood flowed thickly from the corner of her mouth down to her chin as she gasped for breath.

"Why do you stand? If you keep pushing yourself, you'll die." Neji said quietly.

_'He's finally watching me... The person I admire...'_ Hinata raised her head slowly to meet Neji's gaze. Her face was battered and haggard, yet she still had a small but confident smile raising the corners of her lips._ 'I cannot afford to look bad in front of him now. I will prove to him that I too am strong!'_

Neji scowled, activating his Byakugan in the same gesture. "It's not over." Hinata managed to say.

"Acting tough is useless. You can barely stand, I can see that." Neji shifted on the spot before continuing, trying to hide the fatigue that was starting to weigh upon him. "From the time of your birth, the responsibility of the Hyuga Main house has been forced upon you. You have always hated yourself for your own weakness. But people cannot change, that is destiny. There is no need for you to suffer like this. It's time to let it go."

"That's not true Neji nii-san." Hinata whispered, barely able to speak. "Because I can see it... It's not me at all. The person who is lost and suffering within the destiny of the Main and Branch houses... Is you."

Neji's eyes pulsed with power as rage overcame his common sense. Hayate was quick to notice the change in Neji's usually impeccable demeanour, but to slow to stop him as he rushed at Hinata, radiating killing intent. "Stop Neji-kun, this match is over!" he yelled to no avail. In a last ditched attempt, he shunshined over to Hinata...

... Where he managed to place himself between the injured girl and the enraged boy, placing two extended fingers on the steel plate of his headband. Hinata peeked around Hayate and was surprised to see her jounin sensei Kurenai as well as the jounins of Naruto's and Neji's teams helping to restrain her cousin. Kurenai and Kakashi had grabbed his arms and blocked his legs while Guy had him in a head lock.

"Neji, give it a rest. You gave me a youthful promise not to lose your head over this Main family stuff." Guy muttered into his ear.

Neji simply glanced from jounin to jounin. "Why do even the other jounins jump in...? Oh, more special treatment for the Main house..." At that point, Hinata's heart thumped painfully against her rib cage. She fell to her knees vomiting blood, and then flopped lifelessly onto her back. "Hinata!" several voices yelled out, but there was only one voice that Hinata heard.

She lay on her back staring up at the vaulted ceiling above. Even though she knew she had lost, for once, she didn't feel that crushing sense of failure that so often plagued her mind. Maybe it was because she had definitely put her all into this fight.

No, that wasn't it.

She felt... She felt an unfamiliar sense of achievement. She had stood against her cousin and had communicated to him through their exchange of blows her true feelings. How she wanted to change herself, how she would fight for her dreams. She had proved to him how her dedication to Naruto, and his dedication to her, could let them accomplish anything, regardless of what he and her father said and did.

And that led her to her main realization. She had learned that she couldn't fight on her own, not yet. She still had to rely on Naruto to help her achieve her dreams. But was that so bad? Sure, having him wait for her to catch up to him would be a selfish thing to ask for, but she didn't need to cut him out of her life completely. Hinata had asked Naruto to continue being the role model she loved and admired, and he'd gone above and beyond of what she'd asked of him. By simply cheering for her, and supporting her when everyone had given up on her was more than enough to help her achieve the impossible like he so often did. Normally, she wouldn't have been able to stand up to Neji, today, she had fought in a way that she hadn't believed she was capable of.

While she had severed their bonds to protect him despite knowing how much he relied on her, she realized now that she needed his strength and passion just as much. What she had done was foolish, Hinata realized that now. She had only hurt her beloved, and in turn hurt herself. It was time to make amends.

Hinata heard several soft thumping sounds, the soft patter of ninja sandals on concrete and suddenly she was surrounded by people. But her eyes only focused on one face full of nothing but concern for her wellbeing. She reached up with one hand towards the blonde kneeling at her side, and he gently took her hand in his.

She was slipping in and out of consciousness, barely able to hear his words. "Hinata-chan, are you alright?! Hey!"

"N-Naruto-kun..." she whispered softly, prompting him to lean closer towards her. Behind him, Sakura was commenting on how pale she looked while Lee motioned for a stretcher to be brought over. It was getting hard to stay awake, but she had to know. "Were you... Watching me?"

"I had eyes only for you." he replied softly.

"Was... Was I able... To change just a little?"

"Hinata-chan," he said, giving her his special smile. "You showed me what a strong and determined person you are. I am incredibly honoured to call an amazing person like you my best friend."

In true Hyuga Hinata style, her face went bright red from chin to forehead. "I'm glad..." was all she could say before her eyes closed and she sank into oblivion, whether from her injuries or embarrassment, she didn't know. But that warm feeling in her chest that blossomed with Naruto's words didn't leave her for the next few hours.

~H~

As the main celebrations began to wind down, the shopkeepers who managed to scrounge up furniture and food from the wreckage set about organizing an open air feast for the heroes and the survivors. It was simply a time to sit down with one's fellow villagers and enjoy the peace and each other's companionship. Friends and family could be reunited, while search parties went out into the ring of wreckage surrounding the crater that was their village, looking for people who had been stranded after being revived by Pain's Gedō: Rinne Tensei no Jutsu in the rubble.

Hinata supposed now was the time to go and join the others. On the other hand, it didn't seem like anyone had missed her, since she had spent several hours up on the Hokage Monument by herself. As she gazed out at the slowly moving procession heading back from the village gates towards the Hokage Monument, she noticed a single figure clothed in white breaking away from the ragtag parade, winding their way through the wreckage to the stairs that led to the top of the Monument.

The dark haired girl watched the figure, a spot of white slowly drawing nearer to the base of the stone heads, leap from wrecked building to wrecked building until it disappeared beneath Tsunade's head and out of Hinata's field of view. Maybe that was someone coming to look for her, someone that had missed her presence, no matter how small it was. Ideally that would be Naruto, but she could recognize his signature orange jumpsuit from any distance. He was probably with his girlfriend Sakura, not sparing any thoughts for his best friend. She didn't blame him, that's what love did to a person's mind. But still...

She reached into her weapon's pouch and rummaged around until her fingers found a small wrapped object hidden safely at the bottom. She gently pulled out the small package and cradled it gently in her hands. Slowly, almost hesitantly, she unwrapped the dark lavender cloth, revealing the first and probably last gift she would ever receive from Naruto.

Inside the cloth was a roughly carved wooden kunai, slightly larger than a real one. She quickly checked it for any damages and breathed a sigh of relief when she was satisfied that it was unharmed. She turned the wooden kunai over almost reverently, her eyes finding the engraved sentence on the handle by the light of the moon.

"Dream of the impossible, fight to make it a reality." she read out loud, smiling faintly. This had been a special gift from Naruto just before he left for his three year training trip, and it was the only gift she truly cherished aside from the heirlooms her mother had left her.

When he gave her the wooden kunai, Naruto had told her that it was a reminder of their battles with Neji, and by extension her father. It symbolized how their friendship was eternal, built on hers and Naruto's creed of achieving the impossible. Then he hugged her and left, only turning back when she had called out to him saying she would train hard and become strong too, so they could be together when he returned. He smiled that special smile of his at her and left with Jiraiya, leaving her to her own devices for the next three years. Of course, she had help, and she accredited her growth as a ninja during Naruto's absence to that person. She doubted she would have come as far as she had without their encouragement when she occasionally lost sight of her dream.

It made her wonder who was climbing up the stairs to find her. It could be her beloved Naruto or _him..._


End file.
